Bigtime Books in Order

The Bigtime books are Jennifer Estep’s love letter to comic books, Saturday morning cartoons, and romantic comedies, all rolled into one loud, colorful package. The series is set in Bigtime, New York, a city where superheroes and ubervillains are as common as traffic jams, and where saving the day often collides with falling in love.

Each book follows a different couple, which means you can either read straight through or dip in wherever a particular hero or heroine catches your eye. What ties the stories together is the city itself and a shared tone. Estep leans into the fun parts of superhero tropes: alliterative names, secret identities that are not nearly as secret as people think, over the top costumes, and fight scenes that feel like they were drawn with bright ink and sound effects.

In Karma Girl, an investigative reporter has her life blown up on her wedding day and responds by exposing costumed identities in the press. Her mission lands her in the middle of a feud between the Fearless Five and the Terrible Triad and forces her to rethink what heroism looks like. Hot Mama moves the spotlight to a fashion designer who moonlights as a fire wielding heroine juggling grief, duty, and unexpected attraction when new ubervillains come to town.

Other books explore different corners of Bigtime. One heroine gains chaotic luck based powers that complicate both her love life and crime fighting career. Another is an event planner with newly acquired supersenses who saves a hero during a blizzard and then has to deal with the fallout when both he and a mercenary villain start hunting for the mysterious woman who helped him. Later, a self described "fandemic" superfan finds herself trying to protect the very hero she used to idolize from a killer targeting caped figures on both sides of the law.

Underneath the jokes and comic book flourishes there are some grounding elements. Estep lets her characters wrestle with trust, public image, and the cost of constantly putting themselves between civilians and danger. The romances take time to build, with plenty of banter and moments where the masks literally and figuratively come off.

If you want a break from darker urban fantasy and like the idea of a world where the biggest problem might be an ill timed tabloid photo or a villain with an unfortunate theme, the Bigtime series offers superhero fun with a big streak of heart. Each story stands alone, but cameos and ongoing gags reward reading the full run.